It actually WAS the event that led the girl to do what she did.

Granted, it may have been millions of OTHER things if it hadn't have been THIS.

But it WAS this event.

This event, that was precipitated by an adults actions, an adult that SHOULD have known better.

Originally Posted by Captain Trips
...She may get the 2008 humanitarian award.

Fabulous reasoning

Thanks.

__________________
Is our children learning? -George W. Bush

"I think—tide turning—see, as I remember—I was raised in the desert, but tides kind of—it's easy to see a tide turn—did I say those words?"—Washington, D.C., June 14, 2006

"[T]he illiteracy level of our children are appalling."—Washington, D.C., Jan. 23, 2004

Hopefully they'll arrest Catherine Connelly for prosecuting the DC Madam and making her commit suicide.

__________________
"Anyone that needs what they want, and doesn’t want what they need
I want nothing to do with
And to do what I want
And to do what I please
Is first on my to-do list"
-Gnarls Barkley, "Going On" lyrics

When my daughter was that age, I knew what she was doing on the internet. Why didn't these parents?

So, you feel that this woman should be held legally responsible for the irrational actions of someone else? To be clear, I think that this grown woman is at least somewhat deranged for behaving the way she did, but a criminal...? I think this sets quite a precedent for a lack of accountability for one's actions if she's, in effect, prosecuted successfully for causing the death. If she engaged in deceptive behavior to obtain personal information about the girl, I can see that being legally punishable, though I imagine the punishment is a slap on the wrist (or I believe it should be, anyway).

And, let's not forget that, according to the article, the girl who committed suicide was on the website in violation of its TOS anyway, so there is technically more than one party to fraudulent behavior here.

__________________
"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson

Now there you have a good point.

I don't know.

What they were possibly thinking letting their kid, who obviously had issues, on the internet at ALL.

Hopefully this case will at LEAST wake people up to the fact that letting teenagers on, what many see as the "sewage pipe," of the internet is a pretty questionable thing to do.

Especially unsupervised.

Unwise.

So it may not be such an easy "open and shut" case. Which "parents" to hold responsible and what to use as "punishment" ?

Maybe that the entire country is hearing about it will do the work that really needs done. We can hope.

Just bookmarking this for the next time you complain about "liberals".

This sort of "it's everyone's fault but the person who actually took the action and more laws and government will fix this" mentality seems to be a staple of theirs. This attitude seems to be in the same vein as the one that expels children for mimicking a gun with their index finger and thumb.

If we delve into the life of the girl who committed suicide, I'm sure we could find any number of people who have been cruel to her. Should we lock them all up? Perhaps a spanking or an extra long timeout from her parents was a contributing cause as well. Throw them in jail too? I'd imagine there's no shortage of teenagers who have left suicide notes proclaiming things like "You'll be sorry, mom and dad!". Jail for them also? The woman who perpetrated this hoax clearly has problems, but 20 years in prison? I'd think that generally, in a situation like this, a fine or possibly a restraining order should suffice.

And, what if it actually was a 16 year old boy (my reading of the article indicates that the suicide victim never learned that it wasn't). Should teenagers be locked up when they break up with each other?

__________________
"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson

They did, they also helped her create the myspace account, against Myspace' rules.

__________________
Is our children learning? -George W. Bush

"I think—tide turning—see, as I remember—I was raised in the desert, but tides kind of—it's easy to see a tide turn—did I say those words?"—Washington, D.C., June 14, 2006

"[T]he illiteracy level of our children are appalling."—Washington, D.C., Jan. 23, 2004

Hopefully the parents will be charged with negligence.

__________________
Is our children learning? -George W. Bush

"I think—tide turning—see, as I remember—I was raised in the desert, but tides kind of—it's easy to see a tide turn—did I say those words?"—Washington, D.C., June 14, 2006

"[T]he illiteracy level of our children are appalling."—Washington, D.C., Jan. 23, 2004

I just don't see that happening.

Yeah, they should NOT have allowed her to be screwing around on the internet.

But the real cause of what made her do what she did was the actions of their weird, busybody neighbor.

For allowing their child to be on the internet?

Am I the only one that thinks that a 13 year old girl who hung herself over a rejection from a boy probably had serious mental problems that are really nobodies fault? Does every tragedy have to end in jail time for someone?

__________________
"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson

Yes.

Jail time for YOU.

Could you pay for all human tragedies for us ? I'm sure you wouldn't mind. Really not that hard.

Hmm... I think that sentencing me to jail for tens of thousands of years might cause you to experience diminishing returns on the sense of justice.

Edit: And, besides, I'm certainly not a pious or sympathetic enough figure to sacrifice myself for the sins of all mankind

__________________
"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson

Awww shit.

Well I thought we might have you be uspols version of the second coming or something.

I'll probably see you in hell for TRYING such a thing. Maybe. What do I know ?